Fascinating
facts about the invention of Kellogg's Corn Flakes by Will Keith Kellogg in 1894.

KELLOGG'S®CORN FLAKES

In 1894 Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was
superintendent of a famous hospital and health spa in Battle Creek, Michigan. His younger
brother, Will Keith Kellogg, was the business manager. The hospital stressed healthful
living and kept its patients on a diet that eliminated caffeine, meat, alcohol, and
tobacco.

The
brothers invented many foods that were made from grains, including a
coffee substitute and a type of granola, which they forced through
rollers and rolled into long sheets of dough. One day, after cooking
some wheat, the men were called away. When they finally returned, the
wheat had become stale. They decided to force the tempered grain through
the rollers anyway.

Surprisingly, the grain did
not come out in long sheets of dough. Instead each wheat berry was flattened and came out
as a thin flake. The brothers baked the flakes and were delighted with their new
invention. They realized they had discovered a new and delicious cereal, but they had no
way of knowing they had accidentally invented a whole new industry. Will Keith Kellogg
eventually opened his own cereal business, and its most famous product is still sold
today:

It wasnt until 1906 that Kelloggs®
Corn Flakes were made available to the general public. In 1909, the very first cereal
premium was offered: The Funny Jungleland Moving Pictures Booklet available with the
purchase of 2 packages. The offer was available for twenty-three years!

TO
LEARN MORE

RELATED INFORMATION:Will Keith
Kellogg, Inventor Profile from The Great Idea Finder History of Snacks and
Food
from The Great Idea Finder
ON THE BOOKSHELF:Accidents May
Happen: 50 Inventions Discovered by Mistakeby Charlotte Foltz Jones, John O'Brien (Illustrator) / Hardcover - 86 pages
(1996) / Delacorte
Fifty inventions discovered by mistake receive entertaining cartoon embellishment but are
actually serious subjects which will delight and entertain kids. Kellogg's
Six-Hour Day (Labor and Social Change)
by Benjamin Kline Hunnicutt / Paperback (November 1996) / Temple Univ PressIn 1930, W. K. Kellogg, the famed breakfast cereal magnate from Battle Creek,
Michigan, established a six-hour workday for his laborers. In the depths of the
Depression, this policy provided more labor for more workers, and the experiment continued
until the mid-1980s. Kellogg's (Vgm's Business Portraits Series)
by William Gould / Hardcover - 48 pages (September 1997) / McGraw Hill - NTC
Introduces basic business concepts and explains what makes an enterprise
successful by telling the history of the Kellogg Company and the story
of its founder

ON THE WEB:Marketing
Corn Flakes
Cornelius has been closely associated with Corn Flakes and appeared in commercials from
time to time since 1958.(URL: www.kelloggs.com/company/marketing/history/cornelius.html)W. K.
Kellogg BiographyAdapted from an article prepared by the Kellogg Foundation for the
Battle Creek Enquirer, on the dedication of the Kellogg Foundation International
Headquarters in 1992.
(URL: www.wkkf.org/WhoWeAre/Founder.asp)W. K.
Kellogg FoundationIn 1934, W.K. Kellogg donated more than $66 million in Kellogg Company
stock and other investments to establish the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (URL: www.wkkf.org/WhoWeAre/History.asp)W. K. K. Biography
In 1925 breakfast food millionaire W. K. Kellogg purchased 377 acres for $250,000 in
Pomona as the site of his Arabian Horse Ranch. Presented by California Polytechnic State
College, Pomona
(URL: www.class.csupomona.edu/his/skpuz/hst202/WKKbio.html)Michigan Historical
Marker: WK Kellogg / Kellogg Company
W. K. Kellogg. At the age of fourteen, Will Keith Kellogg (1860 - 1951) began working
as a salesman for his father's broom business.
(URL: www.michmarkers.com/Pages/S0541.htm)CerealCity
USA
Kellogg's Cereal City USA is a themed family attraction celebrating the cereal
industry in an educational, historical and, most importantly, entertaining manner.
As a guest you can even purchase your very own Kelloggs Corn Flakes® box with your
picture on it. Say cheese!!
(URL: www.kelloggscerealcityusa.org/)

DID YOU KNOW:

To avoid confusion with his competitors products, WK Kellogg
had his name and signature scripted on each package of Kelloggs® Corn
Flakes along the explanation " The original has this signature"

® Kellogg's Company

Reference
Sources in BOLD Type

This
page revised January, 2005.

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